Stimulus for innovation?

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Some argue that any U.S. economic stimulus package should include an emphasis on spending to promote innovation.

Should any U.S. economic stimulus package include an emphasis on spending to promote innovation -- such as investments in the country's digital infrastructure? That's an argument some are making, according to a recent article in The New York Times. One notable quote in the article was from an interview with Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University. Stiglitz observed:

Bailouts...are aimed at correcting the mistakes of the past, so they are backward-looking. We would be much better off spending our money forward-looking. If we spend $700 billion on new technology and innovation, we'd have a stronger, new, real economy. Up to now, the discussion has focused on the sectors that have been mismanaged rather than the sectors that are creating our future.